Fountain-pen.



E. E. MORLAN.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1909.

955,675 Patentetg Apr. 19,1910.

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wihwooeo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST E. IVIORLAN, OF COLUMBIA, MISSOURI.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST E. MORLAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at C0- lumbia, in the county of Boone and State of Missouri,have invented new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a fountain pen of that type provided with anink-holding cap whereby the tip of the pen, when not in use, will bealways immersed in ink so that it is available at all times for writingwithout failure of the ink to flow, which is a common fault with manyfountain pens in common use.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify theconstruction and operation of devices of this character so as to becomparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable andefficient in use, and so designed as to insure a steady supply of ink atthe nib or pen point.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a fountain penincluding a novel form of nib-holding plug, in combination with afeeding device for insuring the supply of ink to the tip of the nib orpen.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ink-tight cap forcovering the nib when not in use and equipped with means for receivingthe excess of ink from the cap when the latter is applied.

With these objects in view and others, as A will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel featuresof construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fullydescribed hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claimsappended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of theinvention, Figure l is a central longitudinal section of the fountainpen drawn on a somewhat larger scale than will be employed in actualpractice. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the pen as adapted for use.Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-8, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is asectional view of a modified form of socket piece for receiving the capin using the fountain pen for writing. Fig. is a view of the nib or penpoint. Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line 66, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is aside view of a portion of the plunger or ink-feeding device.

Similar reference characters are employed Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed March 10, 1909.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910. Serial No. 482,422.

to designate corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, A designates a hard rubber or other barrel ofsuitable length and bore and closed at its upper end by a plug 1 whichmay be set into the barrel as shown in Fig. 1 to provide a socket 2 orwhich may be constructed as shown in Fig. 4, to consist of a plug 3formed with an enlarged socket piece 4. Either socket 2 or 4 is of suchdiameter as to receive the nib-protecting cap B when the fountain pen isused for writing, the feed of the cap in the socket being such as tofrictionally hold the cap in place.

Arranged in the lower end of the barrel A is a nib-holding plug C whichis provided with an external thread 5 for engaging the internal thread 6of the barrel, whereby the plug is held in place. On the plug (l is anannular flange 7 which projects beyond .the barrel so as to afford aconvenient grip when applying or removing the plug and also to serve asa guard for preventing ink from creeping back to the barrel and soilingthe fingers of the writer. The upper surface of the flange 7 is recessedat 8 so as to cooperate with the end of the barrel to form an annulargroove which is adapted to retain any ink which works out of the jointbetween the plug and barrel when placing the plug in the latter, and bythis means the ink will be prevented from working up on the barrel andsoiling the fingers. The plug is provided with a nipple or tubularportion 9 that projects centrally therefrom and which is provided withan external thread 10 to engage the internal threads 11 of the cap B forthe purpose of effectively holding the cap in place and for additionalpurposes hereinafter to be described. The nipple portion 9 of the plugis provided with a cylindrical chamber or cavity 12 which is contractedat both ends to form cylindrical seats 13 and 14 of the same diameterfor receiving the nib or pen point 15, which latter is approximatelyone-eighth of an inch in diameter.

As shown in Fig. 6, the nib 15 is of a cross-section greater than asemi-circle so as to snugly fit the circular seats 13 and 14 and besteadily held in place without vibration or yielding under the bearingpressures applied to the nib in writing. The frictional grip of the nibon the seat, however, is such as to permit the pen to be readily removedwhen desired. The nib 15, which is preferably constructed of any cheapnon-corrosive metal, is arranged with its inner end hearing against anannular shoulder 16 which limits the inward movement of the pen. It willbe observed that that portion of the nib within the chamber 12 will beexposed on both sides to ink so that a ready supply of ink to the tipwill be insured, and the nib may be provided with openings 17 to allowink to flow into the hollow of the nib from the opposite side thereof.The chamber 12 communicates with the barrel of the fountain pen througha short passage or port 18 which is of slightly smaller diameter thanthe nib and the inner end of the plug C is cupped at 19 to make thepassage or port 18 of the desired length.

Arranged in the barrel is a loosely mounted plunger or rod D which hasits lower end beveled from opposite sides, as indicated at 20, so as tooffer no opposition to the flow of ink from the barrel to the chamber 12through the port 18, and on the lower end of the follower or rod is astraight stem 21 which extends entirely through and projects from thechamber 12 so as to assist in feeding ink to the nib of the pen. Thefeed stem or element 21 is arranged concentrically within the nib whenthe fountain pen is in vertical position and is of circular crosssection so that any side of the stem can be presented to the pen to feedink thereto with equal efficiency. The stem is of such length as toterminate about one-eighth of an inch short of the tip of the pen pointor nib so as not to rest on the paper when writing and yet be in such aposition as to supply ink as close to the tip of the nib as possible. Asthe stem passes through the port 18 it must be of such diameter as toprovide sufficient space for the ink to flow therethrough, and byvarying the diameter of the stem or opening or even the length of theport 18, the fountain pen can be adapted for inks of different specificviscosity.

hen the fountain pen is used in writing, the rod or plunger D tilts toone side on the upper edge of the port 18 as a fulcrum so that therebythe lower end of the feed stem 21 will bear against the under surface ofthe nib. By this arrangement, a capillary attraction is produced betweenthe rod and nib with the result that a steady supply of ink to the tipof the pen point or nib will be maintained. The chamber 12 constitutesan auxiliary reservoir that will contain a quantity of ink which isalways available to supply the nib, and by reason of this, the fountainpen can be used in a more or less hori- Zontal position, as when writingon a vertical or upright surface. As the seats for the nib are circularand the stem 21 is of circular cross section, the nib can be inserted inthe plug C in any position around the axis thereof to render the penuseful. This is an advantage in that any unskilled person can remove aworn-out pen and substitute a new one without the necessity for fineadjustment, as is essential with some pens now in use. The rod orplunger D is of less length than the barrel so that it can have alimited longitudinal movement upon inverting the fountain pen so as toprevent the nib from becoming gummed with ink and to readily wet the nibwhen dry from disuse, by moving the stem of the plunger over the nib tofurnish ink thereto. Another advantage in having the plunger movablelongitudinally, is that the stem 21 can be forced inwardly to allow thenib to be gripped for the purpose of removal.

The nib-protectin g cap B is provided with a bore 22 of slightly largerdiameter than the nib and of such depth as to prevent the tip of the nibfrom striking the bottom of the bore when the cap is in place. The capwill contain a drop or two of ink so that the nib will be alwaysimmersed therein when the fountain pen is not in use, and since the boreof the cap is comparatively small, this ink will not run out when thecap is inverted and plugged into the socket 2 of the barrel. The upperend of the cap is enlarged to receive the nipple 9 and in the cap is anannular seat 23 against which the end of the nipple, which is accuratelyfinished, tightly bears when the cap is screwed home. Above the seat 23the cap has an internal swell 24: to provide an annular chamber orcavity around the extremity of the nipple 9 for the purpose of receivingthe excess of ink which might be displaced from the bore 22 by the niband extremity of the stem 21. One side of the nipple has a longitudinalgroove 25 which provides a vent for the air and surplus ink as the capis placed on the nipple.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a fountainpen, the combination of a barrel, a plug mounted therein and having anannular flange projecting beyond the barrel, there being a groove formedbetween the fiange and the end of the barrel, a chambered nipple on theplug, a pen arranged in the chamber of the nipple, and an ink-feedingdevice movably mounted in the plug for supplying ink to the hollow sideof the nib.

2. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel, a hollow nipple atone end and communicating with the barrel, annular seats arranged in thenipple, a nib engaging the seats and of circular cross section forbearing on the said seats, a shoulder in the nipple against which theinner end of the nib bears, said nib having its inner and outer surfacesexposed to ink in the hollow of the nipple, an ink-feeding elementarranged at the concave side of the nib to supply ink to the tip of thelatter.

3. A fountain pen comprising a barrel, a plug therein provided with aport, a nipple having its chamber communicating with the barrel throughthe port, a nib arranged in the chamber of the nipple, a rod looselymounted in the barrel for longitudinal and tilting movement, and a stemconnected with the rod and adapted to engage the nib adjacent the tip ofthe latter for conducting ink thereto.

4. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel, a plug secured to oneend thereof and having a port, a nipple on the plug provided with achamber contracted at its ends to form annular shoulders, a nibextending longitudinally of the chamber and projecting out of the sameand of greater crosssection than a semi-circle and engaging the saidseats, a stem extending longitudinally of the nib and disposed withinthe hollow thereof, and means for mounting the stem to tilt toward thenib for conducting ink from the said port to the tip of the nib.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST E. MORLAN. WVitnesses:

E. l/V. CHAMPION, WV. A. Snow.

